Trade and the Flag 19 



current everywhere ; G9 Japanese coinage is used in Formosa ; 70 

 but in the Danish islands, St. Thomas and Santa Cruz, an excep- 

 tion again appears, as American dollars pass current and pur- 

 chases are made at the rate of so many cents, not so many gulden 

 or krone. 71 



Transportation and facilities for communication also help to 

 determine the direction of trade. That England has lost the 

 leading position of importer to Costa Rica, and that the United 

 States now supplies more than half of that country's imports, is 

 due to the superior transportation facilities of the United States. 72 

 In Liberia, an undeveloped country with great natural resources, 

 there is a strong demand for American goods, but the trade be- 

 tween the Republic and the United States is very small because 

 there are no direct lines of communication between the two coun- 

 tries. The natural advantage of the United States in South 

 American trade (especially trade with the northern states of that 

 continent) is largely annulled by England's superior shipping 

 facilities. 73 Germany's success in trade has been partly due to 

 the action of the German government in subsidizing steamship 

 lines to all parts of the world. 



Since communication facilities are often better between mother 

 country and colonies than between colonies and foreign countries, 

 another inducement for trade to follow the flag appears. The 

 French steamers, for example, make good connections with the 

 French possessions, and chiefly German vessels visit Togoland 

 and the other German colonies. Since Japan took charge of 

 Formosa there are six regular sailings between the colony and 

 its governing country. Takekoshi says : " Since Formosa passed 

 into our possession the sea routes have undergone most remark- 

 able changes." 74 Up to the time of Japanese occupation of For- 

 mosa the carrying trade between Tamsui (Formosa) and Amoy 



99 Statesman's Year-Book, 1908, 1468. 



70 Ibid., 1221. 



71 Bigelow, Children of the Nations, 203. 



72 Cf. U. S. Monthly Consular Reports, December, 1904, 130. 



73 Cf. Davidson, Commercial Federation and Colonial Trade Policy, 99. 



74 Takekoshi, Japanese Rule in Formosa, 257. 



195 



